Meaning of 看上去
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- it would appear
- it seems (that)
How to use 看上去
看上去 describes how something looks or seems based on appearance, and it usually comes before an adjective or a short description. It often sits right after the subject. Example: 他看上去很累。(Tā kàn shàngqù hěn lèi.) He looks very tired.
看 (kàn) means to look, and 上去 (shàngqù) means going up toward something. Picture your eyes going up to meet a person or thing, and the first impression you get is how it seems.
Common mistake: Learners often use 看上去 for opinions not based on sight, like rumors or reasoning. In those cases 好像 (hǎoxiàng) or 听起来 (tīng qǐlái, it sounds) fits better. Also, in natural speech 上去 is often said in the neutral tone, as kànshangqu, so do not stress it too hard.
看上去 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
看 kàn · to see · 9 strokes
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上 shàng · up · 3 strokes
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去 qù · to go · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 看上去.
| 看到 | kàndào | to see |
| 出去 | chūqù | to go out |
| 马上 | mǎshàng | at once; right away |
| 回去 | huíqù | to return; to go back |
| 看见 | kànjiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 晚上 | wǎnshang | evening; night |
| 进去 | jìnqù | to go in |
| 身上 | shēnshang | on the body; at hand |
| 早上 | zǎoshang | early morning |
| 上次 | shàng cì | last time |
| 路上 | lùshang | on the road; on the way; en route |
| 上班 | shàngbān | to go to work; to be on duty |
Questions about 看上去
What does 看上去 mean?
看上去 (kàn shàngqù) means "it would appear; it seems (that)".
How do you write 看上去?
看上去 is made of 3 characters: 看 (9 strokes), 上 (3 strokes), 去 (5 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 看上去 an HSK word?
Yes. 看上去 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 看上去 and 看起来?
They are very close, and in most sentences about appearance you can swap them, as in 她看起来很年轻 and 她看上去很年轻. 看起来 is a bit more common and can also mean 'when you start looking at it', while 看上去 stays focused on appearance.
Can 看上去 mean to physically look upward?
Yes, in a literal sense 看上去 can mean to look up at something, such as up a mountain. Context tells you which meaning is intended, but the 'it seems' meaning is far more common in everyday speech.